Fatal work injuries totaled 73 in 2014 for Maryland, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that while the 2014 count was preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in Maryland declined by six over the year and was the seventh lowest count in the state since 1992. Fatal occupational injuries in Maryland have ranged from a high of 106 in 2006 to a low of 60 in 2008. (See chart 1.)

Nationwide, a preliminary total of 4,679 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2014, up from the revised count of 4,585 fatal work injuries in 2013, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. Final 2014 CFOI data will be released in the late spring of 2016.

Of the 73 fatal work injuries reported in Maryland in 2014, 24 resulted from violence and other injuries by persons or animals, compared with 17 in the prior year. Transportation incidents was the next most frequent event with 21 worker deaths, a decrease from 23 in 2013. (See table 1.) In the violence and other injuries by persons or animals category, two-thirds of the fatal injuries were homicides and one-quarter were suicides. Within transportation incidents, nine deaths were caused by roadway incidents. (Note that roadway incident counts are expected to rise when updated 2014 data are released in the late spring of 2016 because key source documentation detailing specific transportation-related incidents has not yet been received.)

In the United States, transportation incidents was the most frequent fatal workplace event in 2014, accounting for 40 percent of fatal work injuries. In Maryland, transportation incidents accounted for 29 percent of the state’s fatalities. (See chart 2.) Falls, slips, or trips was the second-most frequent event in the nation accounting for 17 percent of workplace fatalities; the share in Maryland was 16 percent. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for 16 percent of work-related fatalities while in Maryland, this event was responsible for 33 percent of workplace fatalities. Contact with objects and equipment resulted in 15 percent of national fatalities, the same share as the state.

Additional highlights:

• Within private industry, the construction sector had the largest number of fatalities in the state with 16, compared to 18 in 2013. (See table 2.) Falls, slips, or trips accounted for six of the 2014 worker deaths in this industry, followed by transportation incidents with five fatalities. The majority of the fatalities in the construction sector were workers employed in specialty trade contracting (14).
• Retail trade had the second-highest fatality count in the private sector with 12, compared to 4 in the previous year. Violence and other injuries by persons or animals were responsible for 9 of the 12 fatalities in this industry sector.
• Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities in Maryland with 19. (See table 3.) Eight of these fatalities were heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers. Workers in construction and extraction occupations had the next-highest fatality count at 12, followed by building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations and sales and related occupations with 9 fatalities each.
• Men accounted for 90 percent, of the work-related fatalities in the state, similar to their 92-percent share nationally. (See table 4.) Transportation incidents made up 30 percent of these fatalities, while violence and other injuries by persons or animals accounted for 29 percent. Five of the seven fatal injuries to women were due to violence and other injuries by persons or animals.
• In Maryland, 56 percent of those who died from a workplace injury were white non-Hispanics. Nationwide, this group accounted for 68 percent of work-related deaths. The share of fatalities among black or African-American non-Hispanics was 26 percent in the state and 10 percent nationwide.
• Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—accounted for 59 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2014. Nationally, workers in this group accounted for 58 percent of on-the-job fatalities. In Maryland, 14 percent of fatal workplace injuries were to workers 65 years of age and over, the same as national share.
• Of the 73 fatally-injured workers in Maryland, 86 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remainder were self-employed. In the U.S., wage and salary workers represented 78 percent of all fatal work injuries. The most frequent fatal event for wage and salary workers in Maryland was violence and other injuries by persons or animals, accounting for one-third, followed by transportation incidents at 30 percent.
• In 2011, CFOI began identifying if a fatally-injured worker was working as a contractor and recording the industry of both the worker and the contracting firm. A contractor is defined as a worker employed by one firm but working at the behest of another firm that exercises overall responsibility for the operations at the site of the fatal injury. In 2014, Maryland had 19 fatally-injured workers identified as fitting the contractor criteria; 16 were in the private sector, 2 in state government and 1 in local government. Of these 19 contractor fatalities, 11 occurred at contracting firms in the construction industry.

Technical Note

Background of the program. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), part of the BLS Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. The CFOI program uses diverse state, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. This ensures counts are as complete and accurate as possible.

For technical information and definitions for CFOI, please go to the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS web site at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch9.pdf.

Federal/State agency coverage. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries includes data for all fatal work injuries, whether the decedent was working in a job covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or other federal or state agencies or was outside the scope of regulatory coverage. Thus, any comparison between the BLS fatality census counts and those released by other agencies should take into account the different coverage requirements and definitions being used by each agency.

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation for their efforts in collecting accurate, comprehensive, and useful data on fatal work injuries. BLS also appreciates the efforts of all federal, state, local, and private sector entities that provided source documents used to identify fatal work injuries.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, Maryland, 2013-14

Event or exposure (1)	2013 (2)	2014 (p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	79	73	100
Violence and other injuries by persons or animals	17	24	33
Intentional injury by person	16	22	30
Homicides	9	16	22
Shooting by other person--intentional	6	10	14
Stabbing, cutting, slashing, piercing	1	5	7
Suicides	7	6	8
Shooting--intentional self-harm	3	3	4
Hanging, strangulation, asphyxiation--intentional self-harm	--	3	4
Transportation incidents	23	21	29
Aircraft incidents	--	--	--
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing	--	--	--
Aircraft crash during takeoff or landing--due to mechanical failure	--	3	4
Pedestrian vehicular incident	11	4	5
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in work zone	4	3	4
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in work zone	4	3	4
Pedestrian struck by vehicle in roadway	4	1	1
Pedestrian struck by forward-moving vehicle in roadway	4	1	1
Roadway incident involving motorized land vehicle	8	9	12
Roadway collision with other vehicle	5	3	4
Roadway collision moving in same direction	2	1	1
Roadway collision with object other than vehicle	3	4	5
Vehicle struck object or animal on side of roadway	3	4	5
Roadway noncollision incident	--	2	3
Jack-knifed or overturned, roadway	--	2	3
Nonroadway incident involving motorized land vehicles	4	4	5
Nonroadway noncollision incident	3	4	5
Fall or jump from and struck by same vehicle in normal operation, nonroadway	--	1	1
Fall or jump from vehicle in normal operation, nonroadway	--	1	1
Fire or explosion	3	1	1
Explosion	1	1	1
Explosion of pressure vessel, piping, or tire	1	1	1
Fall, slip, trip	17	12	16
Fall to lower level	14	11	15
Fall from collapsing structure or equipment	1	1	1
Fall from collapsing structure or equipment more than 30 feet	1	1	1
Fall through surface or existing opening	--	4	5
Fall through surface or existing opening 26 to 30 feet	--	2	3
Other fall to lower level	11	6	8
Other fall to lower level 16 to 20 feet	4	1	1
Other fall to lower level more than 30 feet	1	2	3
Exposure to harmful substances or environments	7	4	5
Exposure to other harmful substances	--	4	5
Inhalation of harmful substance	--	3	4
Inhalation of harmful substance single episode	--	3	4
Contact with objects and equipment	12	11	15
Struck by object or equipment	9	9	12
Struck by powered vehicle nontransport	4	4	5
Struck by other falling powered vehicle	--	1	1
Struck by falling object or equipment	4	5	7
Struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material	2	1	1
Excavation or trenching cave-in	1	1	1
Footnotes: (1) Based on the BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) 2.01 implemented for 2011 data forward. (2) Totals for 2013 are revised and final. (p) Data for 2014 are preliminary. Revised and final 2014 data are scheduled to be releases in spring 2016.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by industry, Maryland, 2013-14

Industry (1)	2013 (2)	2014 (p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	79	73	100
Private industry	60	69	95
Goods producing	25	20	27
Natural resources and mining	5	3	4
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	5	3	4
Support activities for agriculture and forestry	--	1	1
Support activities for animal production	--	1	1
Support activities for animal production	--	1	1
Construction	18	16	22
Heavy and civil engineering construction	2	2	3
Utility system construction	--	1	1
Water and sewer line and related structures construction	--	1	1
Highway, street, and bridge construction	2	1	1
Highway, street, and bridge construction	2	1	1
Specialty trade contractors	10	14	19
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	7	6	8
Poured concrete foundation and structure contractors	--	1	1
Nonresidential poured concrete foundation and structure contractors	--	1	1
Structural steel and precast concrete contractors	--	1	1
Nonresidential structural steel and precast concrete contractors	--	1	1
Framing contractors	4	1	1
Residential framing contractors	3	1	1
Roofing contractors	--	2	3
Residential roofing contractors	1	2	3
Siding contractors	1	1	1
Residential siding contractors	--	1	1
Building equipment contractors	--	4	5
Electrical contractors and other wiring installation contractors	--	1	1
Nonresidential electrical contractors and other wiring installation contractors	--	1	1
Plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors	--	3	4
Residential plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors	--	1	1
Building finishing contractors	--	2	3
Drywall and insulation contractors	--	1	1
Residential drywall and insulation contractors	--	1	1
Painting and wall covering contractors	--	1	1
Residential painting and wall covering contractors	--	1	1
Other specialty trade contractors	--	2	3
Site preparation contractors	--	1	1
Residential site preparation contractors	--	1	1
All other specialty trade contractors	--	1	1
All other nonresidential specialty trade contractors	--	1	1
Service providing	35	49	67
Trade, transportation, and utilities	13	21	29
Retail trade	4	12	16
Motor vehicle and parts dealers	--	--	--
Automobile dealers	--	--	--
Used car dealers	--	1	1
Food and beverage stores	--	3	4
Grocery stores	--	3	4
Convenience stores	--	2	3
Clothing and clothing accessories stores	--	--	--
Clothing stores	--	2	3
Family clothing stores	--	2	3
Miscellaneous store retailers	1	1	1
Used merchandise stores	--	1	1
Used merchandise stores	--	1	1
Transportation and warehousing	5	9	12
Truck transportation	3	4	5
General freight trucking	3	3	4
General freight trucking, local	--	1	1
Transit and ground passenger transportation	1	4	5
Taxi and limousine service	1	4	5
Taxi service	1	4	5
Information	--	1	1
Telecommunications	--	1	1
Wired telecommunications carriers	--	1	1
Wired telecommunications carriers	--	1	1
Financial activities	--	--	--
Real estate and rental and leasing	--	--	--
Rental and leasing services	--	1	1
Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment rental and leasing	--	1	1
Construction, transportation, mining, and forestry machinery and equipment rental and leasing	--	1	1
Construction, mining, and forestry machinery and equipment rental and leasing	--	1	1
Professional and business services	8	13	18
Professional, scientific, and technical services	--	3	4
Professional, scientific, and technical services	--	3	4
Scientific research and development services	--	1	1
Research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences	--	1	1
Research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences (except biotechnology)	--	1	1
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	7	10	14
Administrative and support services	6	9	12
Employment services	--	1	1
Temporary help services	--	1	1
Services to buildings and dwellings	3	8	11
Janitorial services	--	1	1
Landscaping services	3	6	8
Waste management and remediation services	--	1	1
Waste collection	--	1	1
Waste collection	--	1	1
Solid waste collection	--	1	1
Educational and health services	--	5	7
Health care and social assistance	--	5	7
Ambulatory health care services	--	--	--
Medical and diagnostic laboratories	--	2	3
Medical and diagnostic laboratories	--	2	3
Medical laboratories	--	2	3
Nursing and residential care facilities	--	--	--
Other residential care facilities	--	1	1
Leisure and hospitality	6	5	7
Accommodation and food services	6	5	7
Food services and drinking places	5	5	7
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	--	1	1
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	--	1	1
Restaurants and other eating places	--	4	5
Restaurants and other eating places	--	4	5
Other services, except public administration	6	--	--
Personal and laundry services	--	1	1
Personal care services	--	1	1
Hair, nail, and skin care services	--	1	1
Nail salons	--	1	1
Government (3)	19	4	5
Federal government	10	2	3
Service providing	10	2	3
Public administration	8	2	3
National security and international affairs	5	2	3
National security and international affairs	5	2	3
National security	5	2	3
Local government	8	2	3
Service providing	8	2	3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1	1	1
Utilities	--	1	1
Utilities	--	1	1
Water, sewage and other systems	--	1	1
Sewage treatment facilities	--	1	1
Public administration	4	1	1
Justice, public order, and safety activities	4	1	1
Justice, public order, and safety activities	4	1	1
Fire protection	2	1	1
Footnotes: (1) Industry data for 2013 are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2007. Industry data for 2014 are based on the North American Industry Classification System, 2012. (2) Totals for 2013 are revised and final. (3) Includes fatal injuries to workers employed by governmental organizations regardless of industry. (p) Data for 2014 are preliminary. Revised and final 2014 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2016.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation, Maryland, 2013-14

Occupation (1)	2013 (2)	2014 (p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	79	73	100
Management, business, science, and arts occupations	15	7	10
Management, business, and financial occupations	10	6	8
Management occupations	10	5	7
Top executives	--	2	3
Chief executives	--	2	3
Chief executives	--	2	3
Other management occupations	10	--	--
Medical and health services managers	--	1	1
Medical and health services managers	--	1	1
Service occupations	14	18	25
Protective service occupations	7	4	5
First-line supervisors/managers, protective service workers	2	1	1
First-line supervisors of fire fighting and prevention workers	1	1	1
First-line supervisors of fire fighting and prevention workers	1	1	1
Other protective service workers	2	3	4
Security guards and gaming surveillance officers	1	1	1
Security guards	1	1	1
Miscellaneous protective service workers	1	2	3
Crossing guards	1	2	3
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	4	9	12
Building cleaning and pest control workers	--	1	1
Building cleaning workers	--	1	1
Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners	--	1	1
Grounds maintenance workers	3	7	10
Grounds maintenance workers	3	7	10
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	--	5	7
Personal care and service occupations	--	--	--
Personal appearance workers	--	1	1
Miscellaneous personal appearance workers	--	1	1
Manicurists and pedicurists	--	1	1
Sales and office occupations	6	9	12
Sales and related occupations	4	9	12
Supervisors, sales workers	2	5	7
First-line supervisors/managers, sales workers	2	5	7
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	2	5	7
Retail sales workers	1	4	5
Cashiers	1	3	4
Cashiers	1	3	4
Retail salespersons	--	1	1
Retail salespersons	--	1	1
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	26	17	23
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	--	1	1
Agricultural workers	--	1	1
Miscellaneous agricultural workers	--	1	1
Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals	--	1	1
Construction and extraction occupations	17	12	16
Supervisors of construction and extraction workers	4	2	3
First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers	4	2	3
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	4	2	3
Construction trades workers	10	9	12
Construction laborers	3	4	5
Construction laborers	3	4	5
Construction equipment operators	--	1	1
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators	--	1	1
Painters and paperhangers	--	1	1
Painters, construction and maintenance	--	1	1
Roofers	--	2	3
Roofers	--	2	3
Helpers, construction trades	--	1	1
Helpers, construction trades	--	1	1
Helpers--carpenters	--	1	1
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	9	4	5
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	4	1	1
Automotive technicians and repairers	--	1	1
Automotive service technicians and mechanics	--	1	1
Other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	4	--	--
Line installers and repairers	--	1	1
Telecommunications line installers and repairers	--	1	1
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	14	21	29
Transportation and material moving occupations	14	19	26
Motor vehicle operators	9	15	21
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	7	11	15
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	6	8	11
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	1	4	5
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	1	4	5
Material moving workers	5	3	4
Laborers and material movers, hand	3	3	4
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	3	3	4
Military occupations (3)	4	1	1
Footnotes: (1) Occupation data are based on the Standard Occupation Classification system, 2010. (2) Totals for 2013 are revised and final. (3) Includes fatal injuries to persons identified as resident armed forces regardless of individual occupation listed. (p) Data for 2014 are preliminary. Revised and final 2014 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2016.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries by worker characteristics, Maryland, 2013-14

Worker characteristics	2013 (1)	2014 (p)
	Number	Number	Percent
Total	79	73	100
Employee status
Wage and salary workers (2)	63	63	86
Self-employed (3)	16	10	14
Gender
Women	4	7	10
Men	75	66	90
Age (4)
20-24 years	7	6	8
25-34 years	12	13	18
35-44 years	20	13	18
45-54 years	13	17	23
55-64 years	21	14	19
65 years and older	5	10	14
Race or ethnic origin (5)
White (Non Hispanic)	43	41	56
Black or African American (Non Hispanic)	18	19	26
Hispanic or Latino	15	8	11
Asian (Non Hispanic)	3	5	7
Footnotes: (1) Totals for 2013 are revised and final. (2) May include volunteers and workers receiving other types of compensation. (3) Includes self-employed workers, owners of unincorporated businesses and farms, paid and unpaid family workers, and may include some owners of incorporated businesses or members of partnerships. (4) Information may not be available for all age groups. (5) Persons identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. The race categories shown exclude Hispanic and Latino workers. (p) Data for 2014 are preliminary. Revised and final 2014 data are scheduled to be released in spring 2016.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. CFOI fatality counts exclude illness-related deaths unless precipitated by an injury event. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.